Automatically managing mapping and transform rules when synchronizing systems

ABSTRACT

A method and associated system for managing rules that synchronize operations of a source system and a target system. A set of linked worksheets is generated as a function of the internal logic of the synchronization rules and of worksheets that represent data models of the source and target systems. These generated worksheets describe and relate data elements of the data models, extrinsic data that is stored externally to the source and target systems, and logical procedures performed by the synchronization rules. When the source data model, the target data model, or a logical procedure is revised, the linked worksheets are updated in response to the revision and these updates automatically propagate across the synchronization rules and across other components of the source system, the target system, and the synchronization mechanism.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to managing rules that synchronize two ormore software applications, computer systems, or other electronicsystems.

BACKGROUND

It may be necessary to run two or more systems concurrently,simultaneously, or in parallel, such as when migrating users from alegacy software system to a new, more modern, software system, whencomparing the operation of equivalent applications that run on differentcomputer platforms, or when measuring relative efficiency of programsthat perform similar functions by means of different algorithms. In suchcases, each system may comprise a combination of one or more softwareapplications, computer systems, other computerized entities, otherelectronic entities, or one or more components of one or morecommunications infrastructures.

During such operation, it may be necessary to synchronize the operationof the two or more systems such that the two or more systems performequivalent functions, store identical or equivalent repositories ofinformation, or both produce equivalent or otherwise predictable outputin response to equivalent input.

Synchronization may comprise functions like resolving differencesbetween a pair of data models that each represent one or more datastructures of one of the systems, resolving inconsistencies between eachsystem's repository of production data, or ensuring that, when fedidentical or analogous input, a component of one system and an analogouscomponent of an other system correctly produce identical, similar, oranalogous output.

One means of synchronization is a mechanism by which a monitoring entitydetects revisions to production data stored by one or more of thesystems being synchronized or detects revisions to a data model thatrepresents a data structure or data organization associated with one ofthe systems being synchronized. This monitoring entity may be a hardwareor software component of one of the systems being synchronized or it maybe a distinct “intermediary” hardware or software entity that monitorsthe operation of the systems to be synchronized.

Such a monitoring entity may respond to a detection of a first revisionto a first system by making a second revision or set of revisions to oneor more other systems, in order to synchronize the operation of or theproduction data of the one or more other systems with the operation ordata of the first system.

In such a case, the details or method of the second revision or set ofrevisions may be determined by one or more synchronization rules thattell the monitoring entity how to respond to a certain type of revisionto the first system in order to synchronize the one or more othersystems to the revised first system. A synchronization rule may alsosimilarly describe how to translate a change to a data model or otherdata representation of the first system into an analogous change to adata model or other data representation of the one or more othersystems. Such translations may not be trivial or obvious, especiallywhen a data model or other data representation of the first systemdiffers in a significant way from a data model or other datarepresentation of the one or more other systems.

These synchronization rules may be difficult to generate and maintainwith accuracy. Components of each system may be added, removed, patched,or otherwise modified in different ways and at different times, and eachmodification may necessitate revising, deleting, or creating one or moreof the synchronization rules associated with the system. If the rulesare not promptly updated to accommodate such changes, a rule may notidentify a correct synchronization procedure when a monitoring entityidentifies a need for synchronization. When synchronizing complexsystems that require large numbers of rules, the tasks of generating andmaintaining those rules may be complicated, vulnerable to error, andresource-intensive. There is thus a need for a way to automaticallycreate, verify, and maintain synchronization rules in order to ensurethat the rules are accurately and promptly created, deleted, or revisedwhenever necessary, and to confirm that the rules continue to correctlysynchronize the systems.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A first embodiment of the present invention provides a method forautomatically managing a set of synchronization rules that resolveinconsistencies between a source repository of production data managedby a source system and a target repository of production data managed bya target system, wherein a source data worksheet represents a logicalorganization of the source repository, a target data worksheetrepresents a logical organization of the target repository, a record ofthe source data worksheet describes a logical source data elementcomprised by the logical organization of the source repository, a recordof the target data worksheet describes a logical target data elementcomprised by the logical organization of the target repository, and afirst synchronization rule of the set of synchronizations rulesinstructs a processor of a computer system how to resolve a firstinconsistency between the logical source data element and the logicaltarget data element, the method comprising:

the processor generating a source-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein afirst record of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet associates thelogical source data element with the first synchronization rule;

the processor generating an extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet,wherein a record of the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet iscapable of associating an extrinsic data element with the firstsynchronization rule, and wherein the extrinsic data element iscomprised by neither the source repository nor the target repository;

the processor generating a target-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein arecord of the target-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the logicaltarget data element with the first synchronization rule; and

the processor generating a rule-logic worksheet, wherein a record of therule-logic worksheet associates the first synchronization rule with alogical procedure by which the processor may resolve the firstinconsistency; and

the processor automatically responding to a revision to a first revisedrecord of a first worksheet by automatically revising a second revisedrecord of a second worksheet, wherein the first worksheet is distinctfrom the second worksheet, the first worksheet and the second worksheetare selected from the group comprising the source data worksheet, thetarget data worksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, theextrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mappingworksheet, and the rule-logic worksheet, and wherein the automaticallyrevising is performed by means of a linkage between the first revisedrecord and the second revised record.

A second embodiment of the present invention provides a computer programproduct, comprising a computer-readable hardware storage device having acomputer-readable program code stored therein, said program codeconfigured to be executed by a processor of a computer system toimplement a method for automatically managing a set of synchronizationrules that resolve inconsistencies between a source repository ofproduction data managed by a source system and a target repository ofproduction data managed by a target system, wherein a source dataworksheet represents a logical organization of the source repository, atarget data worksheet represents a logical organization of the targetrepository, a record of the source data worksheet describes a logicalsource data element comprised by the logical organization of the sourcerepository, a record of the target data worksheet describes a logicaltarget data element comprised by the logical organization of the targetrepository, and a first synchronization rule of the set ofsynchronizations rules instructs a processor of a computer system how toresolve a first inconsistency between the logical source data elementand the logical target data element, the method comprising:

the processor generating a source-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein afirst record of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet associates thelogical source data element with the first synchronization rule;

the processor generating an extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet,wherein a record of the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet iscapable of associating an extrinsic data element with the firstsynchronization rule, and wherein the extrinsic data element iscomprised by neither the source repository nor the target repository;

the processor generating a target-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein arecord of the target-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the logicaltarget data element with the first synchronization rule; and

the processor generating a rule-logic worksheet, wherein a record of therule-logic worksheet associates the first synchronization rule with alogical procedure by which the processor may resolve the firstinconsistency; and

the processor automatically responding to a revision to a first revisedrecord of a first worksheet by automatically revising a second revisedrecord of a second worksheet, wherein the first worksheet is distinctfrom the second worksheet, the first worksheet and the second worksheetare selected from the group comprising the source data worksheet, thetarget data worksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, theextrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mappingworksheet, and the rule-logic worksheet, and wherein the automaticallyrevising is performed by means of a linkage between the first revisedrecord and the second revised record.

A third embodiment of the present invention provides a computer systemcomprising a processor, a memory coupled to said processor, and acomputer-readable hardware storage device coupled to said processor,said storage device containing program code configured to be run by saidprocessor via the memory to implement a method for automaticallymanaging a set of synchronization rules that resolve inconsistenciesbetween a source repository of production data managed by a sourcesystem and a target repository of production data managed by a targetsystem, wherein a source data worksheet represents a logicalorganization of the source repository, a target data worksheetrepresents a logical organization of the target repository, a record ofthe source data worksheet describes a logical source data elementcomprised by the logical organization of the source repository, a recordof the target data worksheet describes a logical target data elementcomprised by the logical organization of the target repository, and afirst synchronization rule of the set of synchronizations rulesinstructs a processor of a computer system how to resolve a firstinconsistency between the logical source data element and the logicaltarget data element, the method comprising:

the processor generating a source-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein afirst record of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet associates thelogical source data element with the first synchronization rule;

the processor generating an extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet,wherein a record of the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet iscapable of associating an extrinsic data element with the firstsynchronization rule, and wherein the extrinsic data element iscomprised by neither the source repository nor the target repository;

the processor generating a target-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein arecord of the target-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the logicaltarget data element with the first synchronization rule; and

the processor generating a rule-logic worksheet, wherein a record of therule-logic worksheet associates the first synchronization rule with alogical procedure by which the processor may resolve the firstinconsistency; and

the processor automatically responding to a revision to a first revisedrecord of a first worksheet by automatically revising a second revisedrecord of a second worksheet, wherein the first worksheet is distinctfrom the second worksheet, the first worksheet and the second worksheetare selected from the group comprising the source data worksheet, thetarget data worksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, theextrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mappingworksheet, and the rule-logic worksheet, and wherein the automaticallyrevising is performed by means of a linkage between the first revisedrecord and the second revised record.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a computer system and computer programcode that may be used to implement a method for automatically managingmapping and transform rules when synchronizing systems in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart that illustrates steps of a method forautomatically managing mapping and transform rules when synchronizingtwo systems in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention automate a process of creating andmaintaining sets of mapping and transformation (or “transform”) rulesthat synchronize one or more source systems to one or more targetsystems.

Although this disclosure generally describes methods of synchronizingtwo systems, the present invention is not limited to two-systemembodiments. Methods of the present invention may be extended to thesynchronization of any number of systems, and may synchronize a largergroup of systems or subsets of a larger group of systems by organizingthose systems into a plurality of pairs, into a plurality of groups thateach comprise more than two systems, or in other ways.

Some embodiments of the present system may use analogous methods tosynchronize messages communicated between two entities. Here, methodsused in other embodiments to synchronize databases described by twodifferent data models may be applied instead to synchronize messagesdescribed by two different message models, where a message modeldescribes a format in which a message represents information.

One such message-model embodiment might, for example, synchronizemessages sent from and understood by a first entity in a first messageformat based on a first message model, with messages sent from andunderstood by a second entity in a second message format based on asecond message model. Such a first entity might, for example, comprise afirst communications system that sends and receives network traffic as aset of packets that conform to the TCP/IP (Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol) standard; and a second such entity mightcomprise a second communications system that sends and receives networktraffic as a set of packetized messages that conform to the OSI (OpenSystems Interconnect) protocol stack. In this example, an embodiment ofthe present invention might, using methods analogous to those describedherein, analyze a message model that represents an organization of theTCP/IP packets and then further analyze a message model that representsan organization of the OSI packetized messages and, in response, selectsynchronization rules, access cross-references, and perform otherfunctions analogous to those described herein, in order to allow thefirst communications system and the second communications system toexchange data and process the exchanged data in consistent ways, despiteinconsistencies among the respective message models.

One method of synchronizing two or more systems is by means of anintermediary entity that monitors the operation of the two systems andgenerates event messages that describe a revision to a first componentof a first, or “source” system that may place the first system out ofsynchronization with the a second, or “target” system.

In one example, if a user changes her account number in anaccount-tracking module of a source system, a message documenting thatnumber-changing event may be sent to a target system, or to anthird-party “intermediary” monitoring entity. This event message may begenerated by the source system or by the target system by means known tothose skilled in the art, may be generated by a component of theintermediary entity, or may be generated by a distinct monitoring orsynchronization entity.

In this example, the event message may provide information that permitsthe target system or intermediary to then take steps to ensure that anaccount-tracking function of the target system is appropriately updatedin response to the account-number change. The target-system module, orthe account-number information that the module tracks, would thus bemodified as though the user had changed her account number in the targetsystem.

In another example, consider a source system and a target system thatmaintain a customer list. If a new customer named “John Smith” is addedto the source system's customer list, the source system, or athird-party intermediary system, might then generate and communicate amessage to the target system instructing the target system to addcustomer “John Smith” to the target system's analogous customer list.

A synchronization mechanism that keeps a pair of systems synchronized inthis way may be deemed “bidirectional” if it can send messages in eitherdirection, in response to revisions to either system.

For example, a bidirectional synchronization mechanism that synchronizesa legacy software application with a newer, beta-version softwareapplication may deem either the legacy application or the betaapplication to be a “source” system that has been revised by an eventthat triggers the sending of a message. Here, if the legacy system isthe source, the beta system would then be designated a “target” systemthat must be updated in order to remain synchronized with the legacysource. These designations, however, would be reversed if a later,second event modifies the beta (the previous “target”), resulting in aneed to revise the previous “source” legacy system in order to keep thetwo systems synchronized. In other words, a system revised by an eventis deemed a “source” and a system that must be revised by thesynchronization mechanism in response to the event is deemed a “target.”A bidirectional synchronization mechanism may synchronize either of twosystems in response to an event that revises the other system.

When an event message identifies an event that may require a procedurein order to synchronize a target system to the revised source system,the details of this procedure may be described by one or more storedsynchronization rules. Rules may perform many types of mapping andtransform functions. If, for example, a customer name stored by a sourcesystem is revised such that it is no longer identical to an equivalentname stored by a target system, synchronization may require copying therevised customer name in the source system to a database maintained bythe target system. In this case, a synchronization rule might enablethis copying by associating (or “mapping”) a “CustomerName” field in asource database with an equivalent “CustName” field in the targetdatabase.

Such mapping may comprise more complex functions or transformations. Asynchronization rule may, for example, associate a “CustomerName” fieldin a source database with a pair of “FirstName” and “LastName” fields inone or more target databases, and may further describe steps fordividing a “CustomerName” string into “FirstName” and “LastName”substrings.

In some cases, a rule may require data stored in a source system to betranslated into a different data format, or into a different datastructure in order to be exported to a target system.

Some synchronizations rules may comprise steps that require assembling adata element of a target system from multiple changed and unchanged dataelements of a source system; from a combination of such data elementsand extrinsic data elements retrieved from external sources, such as theInternet; or as a function of conditions identified by a combination ofsource, target, and extrinsic data elements. Many other types offunctions are possible, some of which are complex enough to require arule to comprise a script, a set of pseudocode instructions, or acomputer program.

Consider, for example, an embodiment in which a source system stores acustomer name in two fields, “LastName” and “FirstName,” but a targetsystem stores the same customer name as a single field “CustomerName.”Here, if a user changes the spelling of his first name in the sourcesystem, a synchronization mechanism might respond to an event messagedocumenting this change by performing the following steps:

i) identify and retrieve from the source system the unchanged “LastName”value that corresponds to the user's changed “FirstName”;

ii) concatenate the changed “LastName” value to the retrieved“FirstName” value; and

iii) store the concatenated value as a revised instance of the“CustomerName” field in the target system.

Such a rule may be characterized as an “augmented” rule because itrequires “augmenting” the changed “FirstName” value with a second,independently retrieved, unchanged “LastName” value. In general, anaugmented synchronization rule performs a function that requires morethan one input data element, and in some cases, this more than one inputdata element may comprise one or more elements retrieved from anexternal source distinct from either the source system or the targetsystem. Such an external source may comprise, but is not limited to, aWeb page, a log file, or a stored reference document.

Messages and rules may be created, implemented, and maintained by avariety of means known to those skilled in the art. As described above,an intermediary software application, computer system, or other entitymay, for example, monitor source and target systems, generate a messagewhen it detects a revision event to either system's stored productiondata, or perform a synchronization function or procedure in response tothe event or in response to detection of the message.

Such mechanisms may comprise different combinations of automated andmanual tasks. For example, a synchronization function or procedure maybe performed automatically by a synchronization rule that was manuallydrafted by a system designer as a function of a manual analysis of datamodels associated with the source and target systems. In other cases, asynchronization function or procedure may be triggered manually inresponse to an automatically generated event message.

Revisions to a data model of a source or a target system may compriserestructuring or reorganizing data elements of a data model of eithersystem or may comprise an addition of or a revision to a condition uponhow a data element of a source data model is mapped or transformed intoa format or structure that is compatible with a target data model.Because both source and target data models may undergo such updating ona continuous or ongoing basis, mapping and transformation rules maythemselves need to be continuously or repeatedly revised in response tosystem revisions. These revisions may be performed manually, but suchmanual procedures may be prohibitively cumbersome and resource-intensiveif a system undergoes frequent revisions, comprises a large number ofdata models, data elements, program modules, or other components, orcomprises coupled or related components such that a revision to a singlecomponent may affect other components.

Furthermore, when it is possible for a source system and a target systemto produce inconsistent output or to otherwise lose synchronization witheach other, it is essential to identify a “source of truth” for atransaction, data representation, data lookup, or other operation orfunction, wherein the source of truth is the entity that is most likelyto be correct.

When an intermediary application generates or maintains synchronizationrules within an ESB infrastructure, the intermediary, or the set ofrules that the intermediary generates, maintains, or performs, mayitself become an additional possible source of truth. This may occur,for example, if the intermediary stores rules as a design document thatis distinct from the source system, from the target system, and from thedata models and production data associated with the source and targetsystems.

Here, the design document becomes an additional possible source of truthfor the data models because, if the intermediary application does notscrupulously update the design document every time a source system'sdata model or a target system's data model is updated or revised, therules in the design document may produce incorrect or inconsistentresults, even if the source system or the target system would otherwiseproduce accurate results. In other words, using methods known to thoseskilled in the art, a design document maintained by an intermediary orby manual means must itself be kept in synchronization with both thesource and the target system, thereby increasing, rather thandecreasing, the cost of synchronization.

In an example of a platform that suffers from such constraints, consideran “enterprise service bus” (ESB) or “integration broker” architecture,wherein synchronization rules may be performed or maintained by anintermediary application distinct from source and target systems. Insuch an ESB architecture, based on conventions and standards known tothose skilled in the art, the intermediary application may automaticallygenerate simple mapping and transformation rules that allow a sourcesystem and a target system to remain in synchronization.

Simple brute-force ESB-compliant software tools may be able toautomatically generate some mapping synchronization rules and in a fewcases, may be able to generate certain simple transform synchronizationrules, but such tools generally have significant limitations. Most, forexample, require source and target data models to conform to a specificformat, platform, and data structure, such as an XML (Extensible MarkupLanguage) schema.

In most cases, applications and tools in this field of design areinstead limited to model-documenting or model-representing tools. Suchtools may be able to represent a data model of a system by means of astandard representational language or syntax, such as Extensible MarkupLanguage (XML), but are not specifically designed or intended to comparegenerated data models or otherwise infer or generate rules forsynchronizing systems associated with such data models.

Furthermore, such tools, including such XML-based model-generationapplications, generally manage or store data model representations orrules in what may be a large number of external design documents thatthemselves become a redundant, source of truth for the original sourceand target data models. When a data element of a source or target datamodel is revised, any such design documents associated with the revisedelement must be identified and updated in order to ensure that theentire set of design documents remains synchronized with both the sourceand target systems and the true data models associated with the sourceand target systems. Such additional synchronization requirements may addburdensome complexity and fallibility to a synchronization mechanism.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a different solution bycreating a set of data structures that store and automaticallycross-reference information about data models of a source system, datamodels of a target system, extrinsic data elements that may be retrievedfrom an external information source, and a set of synchronization rules.In particular, these data structures may comprise: a set of mapping andtransformation rules; a cross-reference between data elements of thesource data model and the stored rules; a cross-reference between dataelements of the target data model and the stored rules; and across-reference between the external data elements and the stored rules.

In embodiments of the present invention, this set of data structures maybe stored in any storage format or in any storage medium known to thoseskilled in the art of computer science and may be stored as any type oftabular data structure known to those skilled in the art of computerscience. In an embodiment of the method of FIG. 2, such a tabularrepresentation may be stored on a computer-storage device as one or moreworksheets of a spreadsheet application.

These data models may comprise any representation of a data format usedby either of the source or target software application or system. Thesedata formats may comprises, but are not limited to, tabbed, grouped, orindependent spreadsheet program worksheets, combinations of flat files,relational databases, inverted databases, other type of databases, datadictionaries of one or more databases, knowledgebases, ontologies andschemas, triple stores, directed graphs, enumerations, comma-delimitedlists, or other types of lists, and other data structures or informationrepositories known to those skilled in the relevant arts.

In some embodiments, a relation between a data structure associated witha rule and a data structure related to a data model of a source systemmay allow a rule to be automatically updated when there is a change tothe source system. Similarly, in some embodiments, a relation between adata structure associated with a rule and a data structure related to adata model of a target system may allow a rule to be automaticallyupdated when there is a change to the target system. In both cases, if asource system data model or a target system data model is a source oftruth before the source data model or the target data model is changed,that model remains the source of truth after the rule is automaticallyupdated in response to the change. The worksheets created by the presentinvention may be considered a source of truth for the synchronizationrules that keep the source and target production data synchronized, butthey do not cast themselves as a redundant source of truth for anysource or target data model.

Embodiments of the present invention may make managing mapping andtransformation rules more efficient and reliable by reducing a need forredundant rule management. Because an embodiment of the presentinvention may automatically link or cross-reference a data element of asource data model to all rules associated with that data element, arevision to the source data model that comprises a change to the dataelement may be represented by a single revision to the cross-reference.This single change will then automatically ripple through all rules thatthe embodiment has linked or cross-referenced to the data element. Thereis thus no need for system administrators or designers to manuallyidentify and revise all rules that may directly or indirectly dependupon the revised data element.

In some embodiments, similar benefits may accrue when a data element ofa target data model changes, or when there is a relevant change to acharacteristic of an extrinsic data element upon which the source ortarget system depends or upon which a synchronization rule otherwisedepends.

Consider, for example, a set of transformation rules that comprises fiverules that each transform a first data element of a source system in adifferent way. One rule might, for example, duplicate a transactionrecord entered into the source system as a record in a target-systemPrintBuffer table if a print flag is set; a second rule might storecertain fields of the transaction record in a Receivables table if therecord's “credit” attribute is set; and the third, fourth, and fifthrecords might perform other operations that depend upon the state ofother conditions or variables.

In a manual synchronization system, a change in the format of the waythese transaction records are stored in the source system—such asincreasing the length of a customer account number from 5 digits to 8digits—might require an administrator to manually identify and modifyall five rules that depend upon the transaction record's account-numberfield, and to then further identify any other rules that might beindirectly affected by the modification.

Embodiments of the present invention, however, would simplify orautomate most of these tasks, requiring a representation of thetransaction record to be changed only one time. This change would then,by means of the cross-reference, automatically propagate through allfive rules that depend directly or indirectly upon the transactionrecord data element.

As described above, some embodiments may automatically identify a ruleas being “augmented” if the rule comprises an output field that dependsupon more than one input field. In some embodiments, when the augmentedrule is updated or revised in response to an other change, such as anupdate or other revision to a source data model, a target data model, oran external information source, then the rule's identification as anaugmented rule would alert the embodiment that all of the rule's inputfields must be considered in the updating or revision.

Consider, for example, a rule that combines a “FirstName” source-systeminput field with a “LastName” source-system input field to create a“CustomerName” target-system database key, thus defining a relationshipwherein the CustomerName data element of the target system depends upontwo input fields stored ins the source system.

Embodiments of the current invention would know that, if the length ofthe LastName data element in a source data model is increased from 9characters to 12 characters, then the CustomerName element of the targetdata model, and in all rules that depend directly or indirectly upon theCustomerName element, might correspondingly need to be increased.

Here, however, the embodiment, by means such as counting the number ofinput fields or otherwise relating a number of input fields of a rule toassociated output fields, might automatically identify the rule as being“augmented.” Thus, when the augmented rule is triggered in response to arevision of a FirstName value in a source-system production database,the embodiment would automatically know to proactively retrieve acorresponding LastName value.

In this complex example, the embodiment would have to account for thefact that only the LastName data element had been changed in the sourcesystem's data model, but only the FirstName value had changed in thesource system's production-database. Using mechanisms described above,the embodiment would be able to correctly create the CustomerName key inthe target system's production database, by determining that the lengthof the CustomerName element would have to be increased by threecharacters because the definition of the LastName element had beenchanged in the source data model.

Embodiments of the present invention may thus comprise an iterativeprocess that continues to generate, relate, and revise mapping andtransformation rules in response to a revision to a data element of thesource system's data model, to a data element of the target system'sdata model, or to a characteristic of an extrinsic data element of anexternal information source that is associated with a synchronizationrule.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a computer system and computer programcode that may be used to implement a method for automatically managingmapping and transform rules when synchronizing two systems in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1 refers to objects101-115.

Aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore,in one embodiment, the present invention may take the form of a computerprogram product comprising one or more physically tangible (e.g.,hardware) computer-readable medium(s) or devices havingcomputer-readable program code stored therein, said program codeconfigured to be executed by a processor of a computer system toimplement the methods of the present invention. In one embodiment, thephysically tangible computer readable medium(s) and/or device(s) (e.g.,hardware media and/or devices) that store said program code, saidprogram code implementing methods of the present invention, do notcomprise a signal generally, or a transitory signal in particular.

Any combination of one or more computer-readable medium(s) or devicesmay be used. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readablesignal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. Thecomputer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limitedto, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combinationof the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer-readable storage medium or device may include the following: anelectrical connection, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), Radio FrequencyIdentification tag, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM),an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, acomputer-readable storage medium may be any physically tangible mediumor hardware device that can contain or store a program for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, abroadcast radio signal or digital data traveling through an Ethernetcable. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms,including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic signals, optical pulses,modulation of a carrier signal, or any combination thereof

Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wirelesscommunications media, optical fiber cable, electrically conductivecable, radio-frequency or infrared electromagnetic transmission, etc.,or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including, but not limited to programminglanguages like Java, Smalltalk, and C++, and one or more scriptinglanguages, including, but not limited to, scripting languages likeJavaScript, Perl, and PHP. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer, or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN), awide area network (WAN), an intranet, an extranet, or an enterprisenetwork that may comprise combinations of LANs, WANs, intranets, andextranets, or the connection may be made to an external computer (forexample, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

Aspects of the present invention are described above and below withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods,apparatus (systems) and computer program products according toembodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that eachblock of the flowchart illustrations, block diagrams, and combinationsof blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of FIGS.1-4 can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computerprogram instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmabledata-processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that theinstructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or otherprogrammable data-processing apparatus, create means for implementingthe functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmabledata-processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture, including instructions thatimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data-processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus, or other devices to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams FIGS. 1-4 illustratethe architecture, functionality, and operation of possibleimplementations of systems, methods and computer program productsaccording to various embodiments of the present invention. In thisregard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent amodule, segment, or portion of code, wherein the module, segment, orportion of code comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing one or more specified logical function(s). It should alsobe noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions notedin the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. Forexample, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executedsubstantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed inthe reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It willalso be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/orflowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special-purposehardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, orcombinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.

In FIG. 1, computer system 101 comprises a processor 103 coupled throughone or more I/O Interfaces 109 to one or more hardware data storagedevices 111 and one or more I/O devices 113 and 115.

Hardware data storage devices 111 may include, but are not limited to,magnetic tape drives, fixed or removable hard disks, optical discs,storage-equipped mobile devices, and solid-state random-access orread-only storage devices. I/O devices may comprise, but are not limitedto: input devices 113, such as keyboards, scanners, handheldtelecommunications devices, touch-sensitive displays, tablets, biometricreaders, joysticks, trackballs, or computer mice; and output devices115, which may comprise, but are not limited to printers, plotters,tablets, mobile telephones, displays, or sound-producing devices. Datastorage devices 111, input devices 113, and output devices 115 may belocated either locally or at remote sites from which they are connectedto I/O Interface 109 through a network interface.

Processor 103 may also be connected to one or more memory devices 105,which may include, but are not limited to, Dynamic RAM (DRAM), StaticRAM (SRAM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Field-ProgrammableGate Arrays (FPGA), Secure Digital memory cards, SIM cards, or othertypes of memory devices.

At least one memory device 105 contains stored computer program code107, which is a computer program that comprises computer-executableinstructions. The stored computer program code includes a program thatimplements a method for automatically managing mapping and transformrules when synchronizing two systems in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention, and may implement other embodiments described inthis specification, including the methods illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. Thedata storage devices 111 may store the computer program code 107.Computer program code 107 stored in the storage devices 111 isconfigured to be executed by processor 103 via the memory devices 105.Processor 103 executes the stored computer program code 107.

Thus the present invention discloses a process for supporting computerinfrastructure, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deployingcomputer-readable code into the computer system 101, wherein the code incombination with the computer system 101 is capable of performing amethod for automatically managing mapping and transform rules whensynchronizing two systems.

Any of the components of the present invention could be created,integrated, hosted, maintained, deployed, managed, serviced, supported,etc. by a service provider who offers to facilitate a method forautomatically managing mapping and transform rules when synchronizingtwo systems. Thus the present invention discloses a process fordeploying or integrating computing infrastructure, comprisingintegrating computer-readable code into the computer system 101, whereinthe code in combination with the computer system 101 is capable ofperforming a method for automatically managing mapping and transformrules when synchronizing two systems.

One or more data storage units 111 (or one or more additional memorydevices not shown in FIG. 1) may be used as a computer-readable hardwarestorage device having a computer-readable program embodied thereinand/or having other data stored therein, wherein the computer-readableprogram comprises stored computer program code 107. Generally, acomputer program product (or, alternatively, an article of manufacture)of computer system 101 may comprise said computer-readable hardwarestorage device.

While it is understood that program code 107 for generating aservice-catalog entry from discovered attributes of provisioned virtualmachines may be deployed by manually loading the program code 107directly into client, server, and proxy computers (not shown) by loadingthe program code 107 into a computer-readable storage medium (e.g.,computer data storage device 111), program code 107 may also beautomatically or semi-automatically deployed into computer system 101 bysending program code 107 to a central server (e.g., computer system 101)or to a group of central servers. Program code 107 may then bedownloaded into client computers (not shown) that will execute programcode 107.

Alternatively, program code 107 may be sent directly to the clientcomputer via e-mail. Program code 107 may then either be detached to adirectory on the client computer or loaded into a directory on theclient computer by an e-mail option that selects a program that detachesprogram code 107 into the directory.

Another alternative is to send program code 107 directly to a directoryon the client computer hard drive. If proxy servers are configured, theprocess selects the proxy server code, determines on which computers toplace the proxy servers' code, transmits the proxy server code, and theninstalls the proxy server code on the proxy computer. Program code 107is then transmitted to the proxy server and stored on the proxy server.

In one embodiment, program code 107 for generating a service-catalogentry from discovered attributes of provisioned virtual machines isintegrated into a client, server and network environment by providingfor program code 107 to coexist with software applications (not shown),operating systems (not shown) and network operating systems software(not shown) and then installing program code 107 on the clients andservers in the environment where program code 107 will function.

The first step of the aforementioned integration of code included inprogram code 107 is to identify any software on the clients and servers,including the network operating system (not shown), where program code107 will be deployed that are required by program code 107 or that workin conjunction with program code 107. This identified software includesthe network operating system, where the network operating systemcomprises software that enhances a basic operating system by addingnetworking features. Next, the software applications and version numbersare identified and compared to a list of software applications andcorrect version numbers that have been tested to work with program code107. A software application that is missing or that does not match acorrect version number is upgraded to the correct version.

A program instruction that passes parameters from program code 107 to asoftware application is checked to ensure that the instruction'sparameter list matches a parameter list required by the program code107. Conversely, a parameter passed by the software application toprogram code 107 is checked to ensure that the parameter matches aparameter required by program code 107. The client and server operatingsystems, including the network operating systems, are identified andcompared to a list of operating systems, version numbers, and networksoftware programs that have been tested to work with program code 107.An operating system, version number, or network software program thatdoes not match an entry of the list of tested operating systems andversion numbers is upgraded to the listed level on the client computersand upgraded to the listed level on the server computers.

After ensuring that the software, where program code 107 is to bedeployed, is at a correct version level that has been tested to workwith program code 107, the integration is completed by installingprogram code 107 on the clients and servers.

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as a methodperformed by a processor of a computer system, as a computer programproduct, as a computer system, or as a processor-performed process orservice for supporting computer infrastructure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart that illustrates steps of a method forautomatically managing mapping and transform rules when synchronizingtwo systems in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.FIG. 2 contains steps 201-221.

In step 201, embodiments of the present invention load one or more datamodels or other descriptions of one or more data elements, datastructures, message elements, or logic elements associated with a sourcesystem and translate the loaded models or other descriptions into asource worksheet.

As described above, these data models or other descriptions may take anyform known to those skilled in the art of data modeling, informationtechnology, or related fields, where such a form may comprise, but isnot limited to, a combination of one or more databases, flat files,knowledgebases, schemas, subschemas, ontologies, Erwin data models,scripts, source code listings, pseudocode, or unstructured informationrepositories. The form of the source data model must, however, make itpossible to infer or otherwise identify one or more data elements thatmay be associated with one or more data elements comprised by the targetsystem.

In some embodiments, this data model may comprise a message model thatdescribes how data or other content is organized, structured, orotherwise represented in a communicated message, such as an Ethernetpacket or a communication between a pair of transaction-processingsystems. Such embodiments may comprise a method to synchronize sourceand target message models by means of a procedure analogous to themethods described below to synchronize source and target data models.

The source worksheet created from the loaded source models or otherdescriptions represents data elements inferred or otherwise identifiedin the loaded source models or other descriptions. In some embodiments,the source worksheet may also comprise inferred representations oflogical relations among source elements, such as organizations ofelements into a data structure like a record, table, hierarchy, or a rowor column of a table, or such as an index-data relationship thatidentifies a first element as an index by which to identify or sortinstances of a second element.

The source worksheet may take any structured or unstructured form fromwhich may be identified or inferred a data element, a characteristic orset of characteristics of a data element, or a relationship amongmultiple data elements of the loaded source models or otherdescriptions.

All or part of an organization of the source worksheet may be determinedas a function of implementation-dependent considerations. In embodimentsdescribed herein, a worksheet may associate an instance of a standarddata structure with every data element inferred or otherwise identifiedfrom the loaded source models or other descriptions.

In some embodiments, such an instance might, for example, comprise anidentifier of a data element, a description of the element's storageformat, an identifier of a data structure in a source model thatcomprises the element, and a freeform Comment field that describes theelement by means of unstructured text.

In some embodiments, such an instance might comprise custom fields thatallow the instance to be cross-referenced to, mapped to, or otherwiseassociated with, information in another worksheet created by theembodiment.

In step 201, embodiments of the present invention generate the sourceworksheet by exporting information from the loaded source models orother descriptions into a form described by a source worksheet template.

If, for example, the source worksheet template is implemented as aworksheet of a spreadsheet program, and a source data model comprises adatabase schema, generating the source worksheet might comprise aprocess of populating a row of the worksheet for each data elementidentified by the schema. Each row of the populated might then comprisecolumns of data that together describe all characteristics of a schemadata element that are relevant to the embodiment.

A source worksheet may be created from a template by means of a manualprocedure, an automated procedure, or a combination thereof, whereinsuch procedures and the means by which they may be performed are knownto those skilled in the art.

Such a procedure may infer relationships among data elements all or inpart by means of a combination of methods known to those skilled in theart, which may comprise, but are not limited to, comparing a data modelto a standard or convention, identifying keywords associated with fieldidentifiers or record identifiers, semantic analysis of a schema orontology, syntactic analysis of a schema or ontology, or extrinsic logicor data inferred from an application or external information source.

In some embodiments, these inferences may be drawn all or in part bymeans of manually entered data, where the manually entered data mayassociate a field in one data model with one or more fields in the otherdata model, or may identify some other type of dependency or otherrelationship between such fields.

In one example, if a source data model is an ERwin data model thatconforms to the known ERwin data-model convention, an ERwin-compliantanalysis or modeling tool may be used to translate the source ERwinmodel into an equivalent flat-file format. Such a translation might be astraightforward automated process that creates a row in the flat filefor each data element of the ERwin model.

Here, the columns associated with a particular data element's row mightcomprise identifications of a table that contains the element, of asubschema that comprises the table, and of the element's storage format.Other columns might further comprise a flag that identifies whether theelement is a primary key, and a field of free-form comments that may beused for reporting or maintenance purposes.

A source data model that describes four elements organized into twotables in a single subschema might thus give rise to the file:

Element Table Subschm Fmt PK? Comments 1stNm CustName CustData 10CH N10-character customer first name LstNm CustName CustData 18CH N18-character: customer surname Acct# AcctInfo CustData 10CH Y 10-charprimary key: Account # AcctOp AcctInfo CustData Date N Accountdate-of-opening

Step 201 may comprise many other types of data model and message modelformats, worksheet formats, and methods of translating and creating, andthe choice of such formats and methods is implementation-dependent. Thegenerated worksheet may, for example, be a flat file, a word-processortable, a relational database schema, an inverted file, a knowledgebaseontology, a comma-delimited text file, or an otherwise-analyzableunstructured text file.

Methods of translating and creating may be all or partly automated, ormay be performed manually, by means known to those skilled in the art,including system designers and administrators who are familiar with theoperation, platforms, systems, storage formats, communications formats,or other characteristics of the source and target systems.

At the completion of step 201, embodiments of the present invention willhave generated a representation of information comprised by one or moresource data models, message models, or other descriptions of one or moreelements of the source system, wherein this representation comprises onerecord, or one instance of an other data structure, for each dataelement of the source models or other descriptions.

In step 203, embodiments of the present invention perform a set ofoperations analogous to those of step 201 upon one or more data models,message models, or other descriptions of one or more elements of atarget system, where the target system is distinct from the sourcesystem discussed in step 201. In a procedure analogous to that of step201, a procedure of step 203 generates a “target worksheet”representation of information comprised by the one or more target modelsor descriptions, wherein this representation comprises one record, orone instance of an other data structure, for each data element of thetarget models or descriptions.

In an example similar to an example comprised by the description of step201, the method of step 203 might translate a target data model thatdescribes five elements of a subschema into a worksheet:

Element Table Subschm Fmt PK? Comments CustName CustInfo Accounts 40StrN 40-character customer name CustAddr CustInfo Accounts 40Str N40-character: customer address CustStAbbr CustInfo Accounts 2Str Y2-char primary key: customer State CustZip CustInfo Accounts 9I Y9-digit secondary key: customer Zip code Acct# AcctInfo Accounts 9I Y9-digit account #

In optional step 205, actual production data stored by the source andtarget systems is analyzed and the worksheets generated in steps 201 and203 may be validated and fine-tuned as a function of the analyzing. Thisanalysis may analyze conditional, logic, attribute, or other elements ofthe production data from which may be inferred or otherwise identified acondition, other logical constraint, or other characteristic associatedwith an element of the source or target data model or other description,wherein the condition, constraint, or characteristic has diverged from arepresentation of the condition, constraint, or characteristic in thesource or target data model or other description.

The procedure of step 205 validates and confirms accuracy of the sourceand target worksheets generated in step 201 and step 203, in order tocorrect inconsistencies that may have arisen over time as a structure orformat of a production database began to vary from the structure orformat represented in its original data model.

Such inconsistencies may have arisen due to a design or implementationerror, a documentation failure, or an other problem. A productiondatabase, for example, may have been updated without the update beingaccurately documented in a data model, or a data model may have beenrevised over time in ways that were not properly implemented in theproduction database.

In some cases, a system may have undergone a revision, such as anaddition, deletion, or reformatting of a data element or of a datastructure described by the source or target worksheet, wherein thatrevision is not accurately represented in a corresponding data model orother description. In other cases, analyzing production data may revealconditions, dependencies, or other attributes of, or relations among,data-element values that are not accurately represented in the loadeddata models. In some embodiments, only a subset of the production datais analyzed or compared in this manner, such as a subset that includesonly condition fields, logical data elements, or attribute flags.

Here, loading and analyzing relevant components of source or targetproduction data and comparing characteristics of that loaded data tocharacteristics of a source data model or target data model representedas a source worksheet or as a target worksheet may reveal suchinconsistencies.

In one example, a worksheet generated from a target system's data modelin step 203 may represent a customer's ZIP+4 ZIP code as a 9-digit“CustZip” numeric-string data element, but an analysis of thecorresponding target system's production database may identify thatevery instance of this data element comprises a 5-digit ZIP code paddedwith four trailing null characters. An analysis performed in accordancewith step 205 might thus respond to this identification by refining thetarget worksheet to represent the CustZip element as a 5-digitnumeric-string variable.

In a variation of this example, the analysis of the target system'sproduction database may identify that every instance of this dataelement comprises a 5-digit ZIP code padded with four trailing nullcharacters if and only if a corresponding “ZIP5” flag is set. Ananalysis performed in accordance with step 205 might thus respond tothis identification by adding a “ZIP5” field to each worksheet entrythat describes data element “CustZip.”

At the conclusion of step 205, if it is performed, the method of FIG. 2will have generated source and target worksheets that respectivelycomprise descriptions of each data element of the source and targetmodels, wherein those descriptions have been refined by comparison toactual production data analyzed in step 205. In some embodiments, step205 will analyze production data from only the source system and usethat information to refine only the source worksheet generated in step201. In some embodiments, step 205 will analyze production data fromonly the target system and use that information to refine only thetarget worksheet generated in step 203.

In step 207, embodiments of the present invention drft a set ofsynchronization rules as a function on information in the sourceworksheet created in step 201 or step 205 and further based oninformation in the target worksheet created in step 203 or step 205.

These rules may be created by means of a manual procedure, an automatedprocedure, or a combination thereof, wherein such procedures and themeans by which they may be performed are known to those skilled in theart.

In one example, a set of mapping rules may be generated by an automatedmodeling tool that identifies corresponding data elements in the sourceand target worksheets and produces, as a function of theseidentifications, a set of mapping rules that each associate a dataelement of the source worksheet with a corresponding data element of thetarget worksheet.

In another example, a more sophisticated automated tool may furtheridentify data elements in either the source or target worksheet that isa concatenation of two or more fields in the other worksheet. Consider,for example, a source worksheet that describes a “CustomerInfo” table ofan “Account” subschema that comprises a 12-character “FirstName” fielddata element and a 20-character “LastName” field data element; and atarget worksheet that describes a corresponding “CustomerInfo” table ofa corresponding “Account” subschema that comprises a single 32-character“CustomerName” field. Here, an automated tool may automatically generatea draft synchronization rule that associates the source “FirstName” and“LastName” data elements with the target “CustomerName” data element.

Such a draft rule might state:

-   -   IF FirstName=“a” AND LastName=“b”        -   THEN CustomerName=“ab”.

Many other types of rule-generation procedures are possible and, evenwhen source and target worksheets differ greatly, rules may be generatedin this step through manual procedures or through manual revision ofrules that are generated by an automatic tool.

In some cases, a draft rule may comprise an extrinsic data element thatis not part of either a source data model or a target model. When thisoccurs, a generated rule may refer to such an extrinsic element.

In one example, consider a source system that comprises a“CustomerStreetAddress” field and a 5-digit ZIP Code data element“5ZIP,” and a target system that comprises an associated“CustomerStreetAddress” field and 9-digit ZIP Code data element “9ZIP.”Here, a rule may be generated that directs the synchronization mechanismto respond to a user's entry of an instance of the source system's“CustomerStreetAddress” field by: i) duplicating the entered value inthe target system's “CustomerStreetAddress” field; and ii) calling anexternal function ZIPLOOKUP to retrieve a 9-digit ZIP Code thatcorresponds to the entered street-address value; and iii) storing that9-digit value in the target system's production database.

Such a rule might read:

-   -   IF CustomerStreetAddress=“a”        -   THEN CustomerStreetAddress=“a”            -   AND 9ZIP=ZIPLOOKUP(“a”).

In some embodiments of the present invention, a unique identifier orRule ID will be assigned to each generated rule. These identifiers maybe propagated to each of the worksheets created by embodiments of thepresent invention, in order to identify rules that are associated withelements of the worksheets, such as source-system data elements,target-system data elements, extrinsic data elements, or logical ruleprocedures.

In some cases, the procedure of step 207 may create a “default” rulethat comprises no elements of the source worksheet. Unlikesynchronization rules that are triggered by a revision to a sourcesystem's production data, a default rule may be triggered by some othercondition. A default rule may, for example, describe a procedure bywhich a date field of the target system is incremented when a systemclock identifies a current time of 12:00 AM.

In some cases, the procedure of step 207 may create an “augmented” rulethat, as described above processes more than one input data elements,where the rule's more than one input data elements may be a combinationof source-system data elements and extrinsic data elements.

In one example of an augmented rule, consider a source system thatresponds to a user's entry of a credit-card number by forwarding anencrypted copy of that card number to a remote credit card-processingWeb site. The external Web site then returns an authorization statuscode, which is stored by the source system. If the user had insteadentered the card number into the target system, however, the targetsystem would have stored the credit-card number and aviewing-authorization flag data element that tells the target systemwhether the user is authorized to view restricted content as a functionof the received status code.

Here, a synchronization rule might describe a procedure that responds toa source-system user's entry of a credit-card number by: i) forwardingthe entered number to the target system for storage; ii) augmenting theentered credit-card number by retrieving the status code extrinsic dataelement stored on the source system; and iii) storing aviewing-authorization flag data element in the target system'sproduction data, where the value of the viewing-authorization flag is afunction of the authorization status code.

Such a rule might read:

IF SourceCC#=“0000000000000000” AND AuthCode=0

-   -   THEN TargetCC#=“0000000000000000” AND ViewFlag=FALSE

ELSE

IF SourceCC#=“0000000000000000” AND AuthCode>0

-   -   THEN TargetCC#=0000000000000000″ AND ViewFlag=TRUE.

In some embodiments, such a rule may be too complex to be generatedautomatically, but system designers familiar with the workings of thesource and target systems might still generate such a rule usingtechniques and tools known to those skilled in the art of system design,database management, or other relevant arts. In other embodiments, itmay be possible to generate such rules automatically, either with orwithout some degree of manual configuration using techniques and toolsknown to those one skilled in the art.

In general, depending on details of an embodiment, generation of some orall of these draft rules will be accomplished by means of manualidentification, recording, or configuration of characteristics of thesource or target systems by a system administrator, system designer, orother person skilled in the relevant arts.

At the conclusion of step 207, embodiments of the present invention willhave generated a draft set of synchronization rules that each define aprocedure for synchronizing one or more elements of production data ofthe source system with one or more associated elements of productiondata of the target system. These rules may at least partly describefunctionality of a synchronization mechanism that resolvesinconsistencies between the source system and the target system thatarise when either the source or the target system's production data isrevised.

In step 209, a source-to-rule mapping worksheet is generated as afunction of the source worksheet generated in step 201 or in step 205and as a further function of synchronization rules generated in step207.

As with all “worksheet” data structures generated by steps 201-205 and209-215, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet may take the form of anystructured or unstructured means of information storage that permitscorrelation with other worksheets generated by embodiments of the methodof FIG. 2.

As with all mapping worksheets generated by steps 209-215, thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet may be generated automatically frominformation stored in a combination of the source worksheet generated instep 201 or 205, the target worksheet generated in step 203 or 205, andthe set of rules generated in step 207.

Each entry of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet associates agenerated rule with a source data element, identified in the sourceworksheet, if the rule is associated with a source data element.

If a rule is a default rule, an entry in the source-to-rule mappingworksheet that corresponds to the default rule will not identify asource data element. If a rule is an augmented rule that is associatedwith two or more source or extrinsic data elements, the source-to-rulemapping worksheet will comprise an entry for each rule/elementcombination. An augmented rule that comprises two source data elementswill, for example, be represented by two entries in the source-to-rulemapping worksheet.

Each entry may contain other data elements that describe associatedcharacteristics of the entry's rule or of the entry's data element.Embodiments of the present invention may automatically identify andextract values of these associated characteristics from the sourceworksheet generated in step 201 or step 205. The selection and sequenceof these associated characteristics are implementation-dependent and maycomprise, but are not limited to, data elements such as an identifier ofa table that comprises the entry's data element, a source data countvalue that identifies how many source elements are associated with theentry's rule, or a link to an entry in the extrinsic data-to-rulemapping worksheet (generated in step 213), wherein the entry in theextrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet is associated with an extrinsicdata element comprised by the rule. Many other variations are possible.

In one example, a record of a source-to-rule mapping worksheet (whereinthe worksheet is implemented as a relational database table) may containa record for a rule assigned an identifier AZN-R00015, where that ruleis triggered by any event that affects a source-system data elementTAX.TM.

Such a record may, in this particular embodiment, further comprisefields retrieved automatically from a source worksheet generated in step201 or step 205, or from extrinsic data elements associated with therule AZN-R00015. Here, those further-comprised fields identify a parenttable and data type of the TAX.TM element and link the record to anentry in an extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet that describes anextrinsic data elements required by rule AZN-R00015. The record mightalso comprise a free-text comment that is entered manually or that isimported automatically, during the generation of the source-to-rulemapping table in step 209.

Such a record might thus comprise:

Source RuleID Element Table Fmt Ext Element Comments AZN-R00015 TAX.TMTAX I4.2 MarginalRates Rule for synchronizing $0000.00 data element asfn of marginal tax- rate ext element

In this simple example, both RuleID and Source Element might bedesignated index fields or keys, by which records of the source-to-rulemapping worksheet may be queried. If rule AZN-R00015 comprises threesource elements—thus requiring three such entries in the mappingworksheet—it would thus be possible to identify and retrieve those threeentries with a single query by querying the source-to-rule mappingworksheet by RuleID.

Other embodiments of the present invention may maintain a distinctsource-to-rule cross-reference data structure that allows quick queriesof this nature, based on the data stored in the mapping worksheetscreated in steps 209-213.

In some embodiments, the rule-to-mapping worksheet may further containautomatically generated “count” fields that identify a number of sourcedata elements associated with a rule, that identify a number ofextrinsic data elements associated with a rule, or that identify a totalnumber of source and extrinsic data elements associated with a rule.Such a field may allow efficient identification of augmented rules,which, as described above, may be characterized as rules that dependupon more than one input data element.

Consider, for example, a synchronization rule R00099 that states:

-   -   IF SourceField A=“A” AND SourceFieldB=“Y” AND SourceFieldC=“2”        THEN TargetFieldA=“12”.

Here, when a user revises only SourceFieldB in a source system database,the synchronization rule must retrieve unrevised SourceFieldA andSourceFieldC from the source database order to properly set TargetFieldAin a target system database. In some embodiments, such a rule mightspawn three records in the source-to-rule mapping worksheet for ruleR00099. Each of the three records would associate RuleID R00099 with oneof the three Source Elements SourceFieldA, SourceFieldB, andSourceFieldC. Each of these three records would further comprise a“count” field that identifies a value of “3,” indicating that ruleR00099 requires three source fields.

At the completion of step 209, the method of FIG. 2 will have created asource-to-rule mapping worksheet cross-reference that allows asynchronization mechanism to quickly identify all rules that areassociated with a particular source data element, or to quickly identifyall source data elements that are associated with a particular rule. Insome embodiments, this mapping worksheet will be updated automaticallywhenever a revision is made to the source worksheet generated in step201 or step 205, to the target worksheet generated in step 203 or step205, or to the synchronization rules generated in step 207.

The procedure of step 211 generates an extrinsic data-to-rule mappingworksheet by means of a procedure that is analogous to the procedurethat step 209 performs for the source system. At the completion of step211, the method of FIG. 2 will have created an extrinsic data-to-rulemapping worksheet that allows a synchronization mechanism to quicklyidentify all rules that are associated with a particular extrinsic dataelement, or to quickly identify all extrinsic data elements that areassociated with a particular rule.

Similar to the procedure of step 209, the procedure of step 211 maygenerate this mapping worksheet through a combination of manual andautomated procedures that formally identify relationships amongextrinsic data elements and generated synchronization rules, as suchrelationships were identified, determined, or otherwise characterized instep 207.

The procedure of step 213 performs a function for the target system thatis analogous to the function that step 209 performs for the sourcesystem. At the completion of step 213, the method of FIG. 2 will havecreated a target-to-rule mapping worksheet that allows a synchronizationmechanism to quickly identify all rules that are associated with aparticular target data element, or to quickly identify all target dataelements that are associated with a particular rule.

Similar to the procedure of step 209, the procedure of step 213 maygenerate this mapping worksheet through a combination of manual andautomated procedures that correlate data elements in the targetworksheet generated in step 203 or in step 205 with rules generated instep 207.

Similarly, the procedure of step 213 generates an extrinsic-data-to-rulemapping worksheet by means of methods similar to the procedures of steps209 and 211. Here, the extrinsic-data-to-rule mapping worksheet maps asynchronization rule to one or more extrinsic data elements identifiedin step 207.

In a procedure analogous to procedures associated with the worksheetsgenerated in steps 209 and 213, this worksheet may be used to identifyand retrieve all rules associated with a specified extrinsic dataelement and may be used to identify and retrieve all extrinsic dataelements associated with a specified rule. Here, as described above, anextrinsic data element is one that is required by a rule, but may beidentified or retrieved from an information repository other than thesource or target data models.

Furthermore, like the mapping worksheets generated in steps 209 and 213,each record of this worksheet need comprise only an identifier of a ruleand an identifier of a data element. Any other required data attributesor field values in the record may be automatically retrieved from theother worksheets or from rules generated in steps 201-207. If, forexample, an identified rule is associated with a first record in thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet and with a second record in thetarget-to-rule mapping worksheet, any information in either of thosesource or target-mapping worksheets may be automatically imported intothe corresponding extrinsic-data-to-rule mapping worksheet.

As with the other worksheets generated by this method, the exactorganization and structure of the extrinsic-data-to-rule mappingworksheet may be implementation-dependent and may be automatically ormanually generated and populated by system designers or administratorsusing means known to those skilled in the art.

In step 215, embodiments of the present invention generate arule-pseudocode worksheet that documents the logic associated with eachrule in a predetermined format. In some embodiments, this logic may berepresented for a rule that performs a complex function as a pseudocodeprogram. In cases wherein a rule comprises a simple mapping function ora straightforward association between a source data element and a targetdata element, or between 0-to-many source data elements and 1-to-manytarget data elements, complex logic may not be required and the rule'sentry in this pseudocode worksheet may comprise a set of identifiers ofdata elements associated with the rule.

In some embodiments, each entry in this worksheet may be furtherpopulated with data items automatically retrieved from other worksheetsgenerated by the method of the present invention. An entry might, forexample, comprise a count field that indicates how many source elementsor extrinsic elements are associated with the field; an attribute thatindicates whether the rule is a simple mapping rule or a more complexlogic-based transform rule that performs an algorithm represented inpseudocode; a default return value for the rule; a free text commentthat describes the function, triggering conditions, or purpose of therule; or any other descriptive information that may be automaticallyretrieved from an other worksheet comprised by the embodiment.

In some embodiments, key or index values may be assigned to specificfields in this worksheet. In other embodiments, every field ordescriptive data element of this worksheet, as with other worksheetsgenerated by embodiments of this invention, may function as a key orindex.

At the conclusion of step 215, embodiments of the present invention willhave generated a full complement of worksheets that may be used toconfigure and drive a mechanism for synchronizing two or more systems.These worksheets will comprise a source worksheet that is a function ofone or more data models or other descriptions of data elements of asource system; a target worksheet that is a function of one or more datamodels or other descriptions of data elements of a target system; a setof three mapping worksheets that associate synchronization rulesrespectively with source data elements, extrinsic data elements, andtarget data elements; and a rules-pseudocode worksheet that documentsthe functionality performed by each rule.

Embodiments of the present invention implement these worksheets aslinked data structures, and a record of any one of these worksheets maybe updated automatically when a corresponding record of an otherworksheet is revised. Furthermore, in some embodiments, cross-referencedata structures may be automatically generated from the three mappingworksheets that allow the quick identification of synchronization rulesassociated with a specific source, extrinsic, or target data element;and that allow the quick identification of source, extrinsic, or targetdata elements associated with a specific synchronization rule.

In step 217, embodiments of the present invention perform a continuousor continual process of monitoring the integrity of the synchronizationsystem. Step 217 may be performed periodically on a fixed schedule, inresponse to an occurrence or non-occurrence of a condition, or on an adhoc basis determined by a system administrator or other personresponsible for operation of the source system, the target system, orthe synchronization mechanism.

In step 217, an embodiment of the present invention updates informationthat describes the operation of, or an other characteristic of, thesource system, the target system, or the synchronization mechanism.

Such an update may comprise steps such as updating the source worksheetby loading an update of a source data model, updating the targetworksheet by loading an update of a target data model, updating asynchronization rule as a function of an update to a business rule, orany other update that may require updating the workbooks generated insteps 201-215.

In step 219, embodiments of the present invention determine whether theworkbooks generated in steps 201-215 must be updated in response to theprocedure of step 217. If no updates were loaded or otherwise identifiedin step 217, the procedure of FIG. 2 takes no further action during thisiteration of the iterative process of steps 217-221, and the nextiteration of this iterative process may begin.

If, however, an update was loaded or otherwise identified in step 217,the procedure of FIG. 2 continues with step 221, which updates theworkbooks generated in steps 201-215 accordingly.

These updates may mirror the procedures of steps 201-215. In some cases,a revised source data model may be used to update or replace the sourceworksheet originally generated in step 201 or step 205, or a revisedtarget data model may be used to update or replace the target worksheetoriginally generated in step 203 or step 205. In other cases, asynchronization rule originally generated in step 207 or documented instep 215 may be replaced or updated. If such updates are performed instep 221, the linked nature of the worksheets generated in other stepsof the method of FIG. 2 will propagate these revisions automaticallythroughout the associated worksheets and thus throughout the entiresynchronization mechanism.

In one example, an embodiment of the present invention might replace thecurrent source worksheet or update a subset of the current sourceworksheet, through worksheet-creation methods analogous to those of step201, by loading information from one or more data models or otherdescriptions of one or more data elements, data structures, messageelements, or logic elements associated with the source system and bythen translating the loaded information into a format that allows theinformation to be imported into or to replace all or part of theexisting content of the source worksheet. In some embodiments, this stepmay be performed manually, automatically, or as a combination of manualand automatic steps in response to a manual or automatic notification ofa revision to a data model or other description associated with thesource system.

Similarly, an embodiment of the present invention might replace thecurrent target worksheet or update a subset of the current targetworksheet, through worksheet-creation methods analogous to those of step203, by loading information from one or more data models or otherdescriptions of one or more data elements, data structures, messageelements, or logic elements associated with the target system and bythen translating the loaded information into a format that allows theinformation to be imported into or to replace all or part of theexisting content of the target worksheet. In some embodiments, this stepmay be performed manually, automatically, or as a combination of manualand automatic steps in response to a manual or automatic notification ofa revision to a data model or other description associated with thetarget system.

In another example, an embodiment of the present invention might in step217 load elements of a source or target production database, as in step205, analyze the loaded elements and use those elements, by means of afurther procedure analogous to that of step 205, determine that all orpart of the source or target worksheet needs to be updated or replacedin step 219, and then perform such an updating or replacement in step221. Such procedures might be performed manually, automatically, or as acombination of manual and automatic steps in response to a manual orautomatic notification of a revision to an element of source-system ortarget-system production data.

Similarly, an update to a business rule, a business procedure, abusiness process, or to an other worksheet generated in steps 201-215may trigger an analysis and update to one or more worksheets in steps217-221, where such an update may comprise revising or replacing all orpart of the information associated with one or more synchronizationrules. Such an updating might be performed manually, automatically, oras a combination of manual and automatic steps.

In all these cases, any updating, replacing, or other type of revisionto a worksheet generated by an embodiment of the present invention maybe automatically propagated across some or all of the other generatedworksheets by means of linkages, associations, or other relationshipsbetween entries of the worksheets.

In summary, the iterative process of steps 217-221 monitors revisions tocharacteristics of the source or target systems, to data models or otherrepresentations of the organizations of the source or target systems, toinformation stored and managed by the source or target system, or tobusiness procedures, conventions, standards, or methods associated withthe stored synchronization rules, and automatically responds to such arevision by updating the worksheets generated by steps 201-215,including the representations of the source and target systems stored inthe worksheets and the representations of the synchronizationmechanism's synchronization rules stored in the worksheets. This processmay, in some embodiments, continue indefinitely in order to guaranteecontinued automatic synchronization of the source and target systemswhenever a characteristic of either system, or of the synchronizationmechanism, occurs.

At the conclusion of the method of step 221, the iterative process ofsteps 217-221 ends, and the next iteration of this iterative process maybegin.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for automatically managing a set ofsynchronization rules that resolve inconsistencies between a sourcerepository of production data managed by a source system and a targetrepository of production data managed by a target system, wherein asource data worksheet represents a logical organization of the sourcerepository, a target data worksheet represents a logical organization ofthe target repository, a record of the source data worksheet describes alogical source data element comprised by the logical organization of thesource repository, a record of the target data worksheet describes alogical target data element comprised by the logical organization of thetarget repository, and a first synchronization rule of the set ofsynchronizations rules instructs a processor of a computer system how toresolve a first inconsistency between the logical source data elementand the logical target data element, the method comprising: theprocessor generating a source-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a firstrecord of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the logicalsource data element with the first synchronization rule; the processorgenerating an extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a recordof the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet is capable ofassociating an extrinsic data element with the first synchronizationrule, and wherein the extrinsic data element is comprised by neither thesource repository nor the target repository; the processor generating atarget-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a record of the target-to-rulemapping worksheet associates the logical target data element with thefirst synchronization rule; and the processor generating a rule-logicworksheet, wherein a record of the rule-logic worksheet associates thefirst synchronization rule with a logical procedure by which theprocessor may resolve the first inconsistency; and the processorautomatically responding to a revision to a first revised record of afirst worksheet by automatically revising a second revised record of asecond worksheet, wherein the first worksheet is distinct from thesecond worksheet, the first worksheet and the second worksheet areselected from the group comprising the source data worksheet, the targetdata worksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, the extrinsicdata-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mapping worksheet,and the rule-logic worksheet, and wherein the automatically revising isperformed by means of a linkage between the first revised record and thesecond revised record.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: theprocessor analyzing a subset of the source data stored in the sourcerepository and a subset of target data stored in the target repository;and the processor updating the source data worksheet and the target dataworksheet as a function of the analyzing.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: the processor receiving an indication of a revisionto the logical organization of the source repository, to the logicalorganization of the target repository, or to the first synchronizationrule; the processor responding to the receiving by further revising arelated worksheet selected from the group comprising the source dataworksheet, the target data worksheet, or the rule-logic worksheet; andthe processor automatically updating a linked worksheet selected fromthe group comprising the source data worksheet, the target dataworksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, the extrinsicdata-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mapping worksheet,and the rule-logic worksheet, in response to the further revising therelated worksheet, wherein the linked worksheet is distinct from therelated worksheet.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the logicalprocedure comprises copying an element of source data comprised by thesource repository to a target storage location comprised by the targetrepository, and wherein the element of source data is associated withthe logical source data element and the target storage location isassociated with the logical target data element.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the first synchronization rule is further associated with asecond logical source data element comprised by the logical organizationof the source repository, wherein a second record of the source-to-rulemapping worksheet associates the second logical source data element withthe first synchronization rule; and wherein the first record of thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet and the second record of thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet each identify the total number oflogical source data elements associated with the first synchronizationrule.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the record of the extrinsicdata-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the extrinsic data elementwith the first synchronization rule, wherein the extrinsic data elementcomprises a distinct element of data associated with an externalinformation source; wherein the external information source is distinctfrom any component of the source system, the target system, the sourcerepository, and the target repository; and wherein the logical procedureof the first synchronization rule depends upon a value of the extrinsicdata element.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the logical procedure isa business function, wherein the business function is selected from thegroup comprising a business process, a convention or standard ofoperation, and a business method, the method further comprising: theprocessor receiving an indication of a revision to the businessfunction; the processor responding to the receiving by further revisingthe record of the rule-logic worksheet; and the processor automaticallyupdating a linked worksheet selected from the group comprising thesource data worksheet, the target data worksheet, the source-to-rulemapping worksheet, the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet, and thetarget-to-rule mapping worksheet.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing at least one support service for at least one ofcreating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deployingcomputer-readable program code in the computer system, wherein thecomputer-readable program code in combination with the computer systemis configured to implement the generating the source-to-rule mappingworksheet, generating the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet,generating the target-to-rule mapping worksheet, generating therule-logic worksheet, and the automatically responding by automaticallyrevising.
 9. A computer program product, comprising a computer-readablehardware storage device having a computer-readable program code storedtherein, said program code configured to be executed by a processor of acomputer system to implement a method for automatically managing a setof synchronization rules that resolve inconsistencies between a sourcerepository of production data managed by a source system and a targetrepository of production data managed by a target system, wherein asource data worksheet represents a logical organization of the sourcerepository, a target data worksheet represents a logical organization ofthe target repository, a record of the source data worksheet describes alogical source data element comprised by the logical organization of thesource repository, a record of the target data worksheet describes alogical target data element comprised by the logical organization of thetarget repository, and a first synchronization rule of the set ofsynchronizations rules instructs a processor of a computer system how toresolve a first inconsistency between the logical source data elementand the logical target data element, the method comprising: theprocessor generating a source-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a firstrecord of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the logicalsource data element with the first synchronization rule; the processorgenerating an extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a recordof the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet is capable ofassociating an extrinsic data element with the first synchronizationrule, and wherein the extrinsic data element is comprised by neither thesource repository nor the target repository; the processor generating atarget-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a record of the target-to-rulemapping worksheet associates the logical target data element with thefirst synchronization rule; and the processor generating a rule-logicworksheet, wherein a record of the rule-logic worksheet associates thefirst synchronization rule with a logical procedure by which theprocessor may resolve the first inconsistency; and the processorautomatically responding to a revision to a first revised record of afirst worksheet by automatically revising a second revised record of asecond worksheet, wherein the first worksheet is distinct from thesecond worksheet, the first worksheet and the second worksheet areselected from the group comprising the source data worksheet, the targetdata worksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, the extrinsicdata-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mapping worksheet,and the rule-logic worksheet, and wherein the automatically revising isperformed by means of a linkage between the first revised record and thesecond revised record.
 10. The computer program product of claim 9,further comprising: the processor analyzing a subset of the source datastored in the source repository and a subset of target data stored inthe target repository; and the processor updating the source dataworksheet and the target data worksheet as a function of the analyzing.11. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising: theprocessor receiving an indication of a revision to the logicalorganization of the source repository, to the logical organization ofthe target repository, or to the first synchronization rule; theprocessor responding to the receiving by further revising a relatedworksheet selected from the group comprising the source data worksheet,the target data worksheet, or the rule-logic worksheet; and theprocessor automatically updating a linked worksheet selected from thegroup comprising the source data worksheet, the target data worksheet,the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, the extrinsic data-to-rule mappingworksheet, the target-to-rule mapping worksheet, and the rule-logicworksheet, in response to the further revising the related worksheet,wherein the linked worksheet is distinct from the related worksheet. 12.The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the logical procedurecomprises copying an element of source data comprised by the sourcerepository to a target storage location comprised by the targetrepository, and wherein the element of source data is associated withthe logical source data element and the target storage location isassociated with the logical target data element.
 13. The computerprogram product of claim 9, wherein the first synchronization rule isfurther associated with a second logical source data element comprisedby the logical organization of the source repository, wherein a secondrecord of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the secondlogical source data element with the first synchronization rule; andwherein the first record of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet and thesecond record of the source-to-rule mapping worksheet each identify thetotal number of logical source data elements associated with the firstsynchronization rule.
 14. The computer program product of claim 9,wherein the record of the extrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheetassociates the extrinsic data element with the first synchronizationrule, wherein the extrinsic data element comprises a distinct element ofdata associated with an external information source; wherein theexternal information source is distinct from any component of the sourcesystem, the target system, the source repository, and the targetrepository; and wherein the logical procedure of the firstsynchronization rule depends upon a value of the extrinsic data element.15. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the logicalprocedure is a business function, wherein the business function isselected from the group comprising a business process, a convention orstandard of operation, and a business method, the method furthercomprising: the processor receiving an indication of a revision to thebusiness function; the processor responding to the receiving by furtherrevising the record of the rule-logic worksheet; and the processorautomatically updating a linked worksheet selected from the groupcomprising the source data worksheet, the target data worksheet, thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet, the extrinsic data-to-rule mappingworksheet, and the target-to-rule mapping worksheet.
 16. A computersystem comprising a processor, a memory coupled to said processor, and acomputer-readable hardware storage device coupled to said processor,said storage device containing program code configured to be run by saidprocessor via the memory to implement a method for automaticallymanaging a set of synchronization rules that resolve inconsistenciesbetween a source repository of production data managed by a sourcesystem and a target repository of production data managed by a targetsystem, wherein a source data worksheet represents a logicalorganization of the source repository, a target data worksheetrepresents a logical organization of the target repository, a record ofthe source data worksheet describes a logical source data elementcomprised by the logical organization of the source repository, a recordof the target data worksheet describes a logical target data elementcomprised by the logical organization of the target repository, and afirst synchronization rule of the set of synchronizations rulesinstructs a processor of a computer system how to resolve a firstinconsistency between the logical source data element and the logicaltarget data element, the method comprising: the processor generating asource-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a first record of thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the logical source dataelement with the first synchronization rule; the processor generating anextrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet, wherein a record of theextrinsic data-to-rule mapping worksheet is capable of associating anextrinsic data element with the first synchronization rule, and whereinthe extrinsic data element is comprised by neither the source repositorynor the target repository; the processor generating a target-to-rulemapping worksheet, wherein a record of the target-to-rule mappingworksheet associates the logical target data element with the firstsynchronization rule; and the processor generating a rule-logicworksheet, wherein a record of the rule-logic worksheet associates thefirst synchronization rule with a logical procedure by which theprocessor may resolve the first inconsistency; and the processorautomatically responding to a revision to a first revised record of afirst worksheet by automatically revising a second revised record of asecond worksheet, wherein the first worksheet is distinct from thesecond worksheet, the first worksheet and the second worksheet areselected from the group comprising the source data worksheet, the targetdata worksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, the extrinsicdata-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mapping worksheet,and the rule-logic worksheet, and wherein the automatically revising isperformed by means of a linkage between the first revised record and thesecond revised record.
 17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:the processor analyzing a subset of the source data stored in the sourcerepository and a subset of target data stored in the target repository;and the processor updating the source data worksheet and the target dataworksheet as a function of the analyzing.
 18. The system of claim 16,further comprising: the processor receiving an indication of a revisionto the logical organization of the source repository, to the logicalorganization of the target repository, or to the first synchronizationrule; the processor responding to the receiving by further revising arelated worksheet selected from the group comprising the source dataworksheet, the target data worksheet, or the rule-logic worksheet; andthe processor automatically updating a linked worksheet selected fromthe group comprising the source data worksheet, the target dataworksheet, the source-to-rule mapping worksheet, the extrinsicdata-to-rule mapping worksheet, the target-to-rule mapping worksheet,and the rule-logic worksheet, in response to the further revising therelated worksheet, wherein the linked worksheet is distinct from therelated worksheet.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the firstsynchronization rule is further associated with a second logical sourcedata element comprised by the logical organization of the sourcerepository, wherein a second record of the source-to-rule mappingworksheet associates the second logical source data element with thefirst synchronization rule; and wherein the first record of thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet and the second record of thesource-to-rule mapping worksheet each identify the total number oflogical source data elements associated with the first synchronizationrule.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the record of the extrinsicdata-to-rule mapping worksheet associates the extrinsic data elementwith the first synchronization rule, wherein the extrinsic data elementcomprises a distinct element of data associated with an externalinformation source; wherein the external information source is distinctfrom any component of the source system, the target system, the sourcerepository, and the target repository; and wherein the logical procedureof the first synchronization rule depends upon a value of the extrinsicdata element.